Crouch overcomes nerves and Tarpon

By ERIC MUSKATEVC
Published April 19, 2006

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CLEARWATER - Bryce Crouch proved the doubters wrong Tuesday night at Eddie C. Moore: 14 strikeouts, 6 innings, 0 runs. Silencing rumors about the Hurricanes' lack of pitching, Crouch held Tarpon Springs off the scoreboard, propelling PHU to another postseason berth with a 2-0 win in the late semifinal.

"I was actually a little nervous. It's the first one-and-done game," Crouch said.

PHU coach Chuck Poetter expected to be nervous facing the Spongers. And he knows East Lake - the winner over Dunedin - will be just as tough, splitting the season with the Eagles. "We expected them to play us tough," Poetter said. "Poor Bryce came up to me and was concerned about what people were saying about our pitching, and she just went out there and showed them."

Christina Skulas pitched a relative shutout as Tarpon's starter. In the first inning after an Elysha Agen single, the Hurricane's scored first after an error. Agen scored the other run in the third after a walk and the second of four defensive errors for Tarpon.

"We outhit the 2005 national champions and don't win," Tarpon coach Monica Talley said. The Hurricanes managed two hits to Tarpon's three. The Spongers' last single came in the top of the seventh when Ashley Knight singled. Tarpon had two runners on when Crouch got a strikeout to end the game.

East Lake kept the pressure on Dunedin and cracked a scoreless game in the fourth. Behind great defense from shortstop Brittany Lopez (two runs, two hits), Kim Mazzapica pitched seven shutout innings.